Dear Editor,
It is no secret that motor sport at South Dakota has its faithful fans. This is evident from the crowd present at the GMRC race meet on Sunday May 4, 2008. On this particular day there were other events: the Indian Mela at the National Park and the Dharmic Sabha event at the Providence Stadium. Though the public had all these options available the spectator turn-out at the South Dakota was satisfactory.
The South Dakota circuit is among the prominent race venues in the Caribbean. It is well promoted as one of Guyana’s tourist attractions in various local and international media. The marketing team produces very good quality work to make the occasion a success. The drivers along with their mechanical teams work long hours to prepare their cars for action. Last but not least the faithful spectators pay the cover fee to witness the fireworks unfold on the track.
However, imagine this scenario: present at one of these race meets is the management team of the race club along with their special invited guest and the various race teams – but with no spectators from the public. This would be because these spectators were not satisfied with the washroom facilities and decided not to attend. Would such a meet be termed a success? I hope not.
Based on my knowledge there are washroom facilities at the club house. They are two such facilities, one below the club house and the other in the main viewing lounge for the club members and their associates. I heard that these facilities are poorly maintained even on race days. Most times it is a race to use these facilities since patrons realize that it is better to use before 1 pm on any race meet day. Their condition is deplorable and they become unusable as the day progresses, even though these facilities are used mainly by the patrons of the club house. Most times security at the entrance of the club house refuses entry to members of the public, though they express their need to use the facilities.
It is also no secret that most spectators assemble at various points along or within the circuit, rather than in the club house. These spectators suffer the most when the need arises to use a washroom facility. I observe on many occasions spectators frantically searching for a washroom. The complexion of some of these spectators changes as the intensity of their need to use the washroom increases. This is when their instincts lead them to the lovely surrounding green vegetation. This is no joke; at first I thought that a special body dye was available to reflect the team they support, that is either Digicel or Cellink plus. But this thought was short lived since I observed patrons with smiling faces with their natural complexions returning from the leafy green washrooms.
I am sure that this is a common complaint made to the race club management and maybe they are not getting the time to remedy the problem. However, I would like to remind the management of the race club that this service is one of the fringe services that patrons pay for when attending these events and not only the entertainment part of it.
May I suggest that management seriously addresses this recurring problem and offers the public a decent race circuit with proper washroom facilities and not a washroom facility with a race circuit.
Yours faithfully,
Bruce Rodrigues
